Ferid's figure stalled once more.
The demon sword flew past Ferid's chest.
Ferid was somewhat surprised; he had never seen such a style of attack before.
"How marvelous. It seems I must deal with you first!"
Ferid turned toward Luke and charged.
Ferid hadn't brought a weapon today to intercept Mika and the others because he didn't think it was necessary, but now, with Luke's flexible combat style, he couldn't leave him for too long, or he might accidentally fall into a trap.
A smile played at the corners of Luke's mouth.
Exactly what I wanted—for you to come for me.
Luke recalled the demon sword, gripping it in his hand in a defensive posture.
"Possession!"
Luke chanted internally as black mist billowed from the longsword, seeping into his body through his arm.
Luke's purple eyes instantly turned crimson, his gaze becoming extremely aggressive. Red patterns crawled across his face, similar to demon markings but far more intricate, causing his entire aura to shift, taking on a faint hint of malevolence.
But this wasn't Kyle taking over Luke's body; rather, Luke was using Kyle as a medium to borrow the demon sword's power.
Possession wasn't entirely without side effects.
The demons within cursed gear stir up the desires in human hearts, whereas Luke's demon sword possession would make his personality warlike and tyrannical.
If Luke couldn't suppress these emotions, he might lose himself in bloodlust and forfeit his reason, much like the effects of cursed gear.
This transformation took only the blink of an eye.
Sensing the change in Luke's aura, Ferid stopped his playful grinning and slowed his charge, becoming wary.
Luke felt his physical capabilities had increased at least fivefold! The boost was even greater than what asuramaru provided!
Besides, he was still growing; he wondered how strong he would become later!
Ferid chose not to attack head-on again. His speed was incomparably faster than a human's, so there was no need to take the high-risk frontal approach.
But Luke's reaction caught him off guard once more.
Ferid could feel Luke's gaze following his movements as he changed direction, which truly shocked him.
"Is this brat really human?! Right, it's that weapon. It's very similar to the intel Guren provided last time; some models can enhance the wielder's abilities. How did it end up in Sanguinem? And in the hands of a human brat!"
Little did he know, Luke was also quite surprised. With his base constitution, a fivefold increase in vision barely allowed him to keep up with Ferid's speed, let alone his body's physical response!
Ferid noticed this as well, so he simply circled to Luke's flank to prepare an attack.
Looking at Luke, who was right in front of him and had only turned halfway, Ferid felt victory was within his grasp.
Bang!
At Ferid's most complacent moment, a bullet struck his shoulder, slowing his attack by half a beat. Luke finally managed to turn around, his demon sword sweeping toward Ferid.
Ferid flickered backward, widening the distance between himself and Luke to dodge the sweep.
"My, my, that hurts. How dangerous. This isn't a toy for children, you know~"
"Doesn't seem like it hurts that much if you're still in the mood to joke like that."
Luke gave Yuichiro a thumbs-up while remaining on guard against another sneak attack from Ferid.
Yuichiro panted heavily, looking at his hands with a face full of disbelief.
"I... I hit him? I hit him!"
When Ferid had charged past him toward Luke, Yuichiro had raised his gun and aimed ahead of time at the area around Luke.
Yuichiro's eyes couldn't keep up with Ferid's speed, but he could see a blurry trail. By some fluke, he actually managed to hit him, essentially saving Luke's life.
But even if Yuichiro's shot hadn't hindered Ferid, Luke would have been fine.
Beneath his clothes, he had several Shielding Talismans attached.
Even if Ferid had succeeded, the Shielding Talismans would have ensured Luke's safety.
In truth, no matter how many were attached, all the talismans would activate simultaneously upon detecting an attack. Luke only wore so many because he believed in the principle of "more is better."
Right in front of Ferid, Luke shouted to Yuichiro.
"Thanks! But hurry and take everyone away. I'll hold back this bastard Ferid for you!"
Without realizing it, Luke was positioned exactly between Ferid and the children of the Hyakuya Orphanage, and the children were closest to the door.
Yuichiro was still worried about Mika.
"But Mika..."
"Just go! Do you really expect to defeat this bastard Ferid, find Mika, and then escape together? The patrol will definitely be here soon. If you don't leave now, everyone will die!"
"But..."
"No 'buts'! You're carrying the lives of these children on your shoulders!"
Moral pressure always works on these righteous protagonists. Sure enough, Yuichiro yielded.
"Damn it!"
With eyes full of frustrated tears, Yuichiro led the children—including Taichi, who had just returned to the group—and ran toward the exit.
Luke turned back, looking at Ferid provocatively.
"I've said so much, why haven't you interrupted me?"
Ferid released his hand from the wound and casually tossed the extracted bullet onto the ground. The wound had already healed.
He couldn't exactly say that he was going to let them go for Guren sooner or later anyway, and that these were just a few extra bonuses.
"I don't know if they'll escape, but as for you, brat—I can't just ignore you calling me a 'bastard' over and over! You're definitely not leaving!"
Now, with a faint black mist drifting around him, Luke's special constitution buff had been overridden by the possession.
Thus, in Ferid's eyes, Luke was no longer a fragrant feast, but an unruly piece of livestock!
...At the staircase entrance, Mika watched the scene unfold with a complex expression.
He was surprised by Ferid's appearance and even more shocked by Luke's, while simultaneously feeling heartfelt joy that his family was leaving.
He had returned to the staircase when Yuichiro fired the second shot, but he knew he couldn't show himself then, or Yuichiro would waver.
"If we're leaving, we're all leaving together!"
That was definitely something that idiot Yuu would say, so... for everyone's sake, I can't go out there.
"Quick! There's movement at the exit!"
Mika was startled; the patrol had arrived!
Mika peeked out to look at the struggling Luke and made a decision.
"If other Vampires arrive, Luke definitely won't be able to escape, and Ferid might even send him to chase after Yuu and the others."
Mika looked determined. For his family, he would do anything! Luke was also family he recognized!
Mika ran quickly down the stairs and ran straight into three arriving Vampires not far from the staircase.
Mika ran recklessly toward a certain direction. As he expected, the three Vampires spotted him.
"A human? Why is one here?!"
"Hey, don't run!"
Mika glanced at the Vampires closing in behind him and sped up.
"Please stay safe, everyone!"
...Meanwhile, on another path leading to the exit, Krul was also about to arrive.
Krul raised her hand, signaling the Vampires behind her to stop following.
She arrived at a small door, behind which was the plaza at the exit.
"No other Vampires are allowed to approach."
"Yes!"
On her way, she had received another report that the two Seraphs she was keeping had disappeared, so Ferid must have discovered something.
The fewer Vampires knew about the Seraphs, the better, so she left these Lower-ranking Vampires here to guard the door.
These Lower-ranking Vampires remained in place to guard the entrance.
Just as Krul passed through the small door, she saw Luke make a mistake and be impaled through the chest by Ferid's hand.
Ferid withdrew his right hand and kicked Luke to the ground.
"Being able to wound me was truly beyond my expectations. Unfortunately, you're about to die, ahaha~"
Ferid clutched his left leg, his face contorted in pain, yet he maintained his usual speaking style.
Luke's vision began to blur, and he kept coughing up blood. Hearing Ferid's words, he couldn't help but curse in his heart: Stop posing... Lady Krul, you should be here by now. If you don't show up, I'm going to die! It hurts so much! I wanted to become a Vampire like Mika, but I didn't want to be on the verge of death before turning like he was!
By the way, is Ferid just too strong or am I too pathetic? I thought we were evenly matched, but it turns out I almost got split in two.
Tiandao, is this strength of yours for real?
Luke rambled frantically in his mind to keep his brain alert and avoid losing consciousness.
Enduring the erosion of the demon sword's power on his wound, Ferid grabbed Luke from the ground, preparing to drink his blood to heal and finish him off.
But before he could bite, a roundhouse kick landed squarely on Ferid's face.
Unable to dodge in time, Ferid was sent flying, and Luke fell to the ground once more.
Wtf! Is this how you treat an injured person? Do you think I'm not bleeding fast enough? Or do you think the injury isn't serious because my organs haven't fallen out yet?!
"Stop. He belongs to me."
Krul retracted her right leg and spoke to Ferid.
Ferid stood up, wearing a bitter smile and a look of confusion.
"Isn't this Lady Krul? You're as beautiful as ever, but next time, could you speak before you strike?"
Krul was unfazed.
"Still as wretched as ever, Ferid Bathory."
Krul looked at Ferid with one hand on her hip and questioned him.
"So, where are my Seraphs?"
Ferid acted completely innocent.
"How can you say that? I've been shot and slashed, you know. This human brat is surprisingly formidable."
Krul glanced at the blood-coughing Luke and said impassively.
"No, you let them go on purpose. You allowed the Seraphs I was raising to escape, and you've brought my special blood source to the brink of death."
Just then, three Vampires arrived, leading a human child.
"Queen Krul, Lord Ferid, we've caught this brat."
Krul was somewhat surprised.
"One of the Seraphs didn't escape? What a surprise."
Mika struggled desperately.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Suddenly, he saw Luke lying in a pool of blood.
"Luke! How are you! Aki—"
"Be quiet!"
The Vampire holding Mika knocked him unconscious with a single blow.
Ferid also slowly stood up from the ground, his tone relaxed as if he held all the cards.
"You're the one who should be making excuses, Lady Krul. The Seraph experiments are a violation of the law."
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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